The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-11-25
Agricultural Colleges.

In discussing these schools the Rural
Neio- Yorker says: Farmers Of the
country have the power to make . grand
success of majority four agricultural
colleges. This opinion is based upon .
personal examination of two of the
most successful institutions and study
Of several feebler ones. In Michigan,
Mississippi and Kansas We have agri-
cultural schools that offer no apology
for existing, and are not ashamed to
place their course of instruction beside
that Of any school. The progressive
farmers of Michigan made their college
BY sending their boys there and keep.
ing them there. If in the beginning
they had hung back and sneered at the
school and sent their boys to sectarian
colleges, the institution would long
since have been swallowed up. There
is an enthusiasm about numbers that
counts in colleges as in any other place
where men meet. Surely if Michigan,
30 years ago, could find men to start
her college. other States can get them
to-day if they care to look for them. II
the farmers do not believe that agricul-
tural education is possible, and that
their boys can make better men by
learning poor Latin and worse Greek at
q second.rate college than they can at
amy possible agriculture college, that is
their own affair. We believe, /, that it
is possible to create, in every State in
this country, an agricultural college
that will be positive benefit to the
State; 2, that the farmers Of any State
have the power to make or unmak o
these colleges just as they wish. The
history Of the half-dozen colleges that
can be rated as anything Of o success
will prove these propositions. Let the
farmers organizations Of any State all
pledge themselves to give thcir agricul1
tural college their warm and hearty
support for five years. Let them send
boys there az students and committees
there to investigate, and keep up the
work honestly and fairly and the result
would astonish them. You will say
you do not care to experiment with your
boys education. What else do you do
when you send him to any other collge?
Can you tell what he will make as the
result Of this college trainiDg9 One
favorite argument Of farm writers is to
the effect that farmers boys should
never be surrounded by any education
or influence that would draw tn nm away
from the farm. There is far more sense
10 permitting boy to select his own
profession. He will be q happier and
better and more successful man for
such selection. There are natural
farmers, natural doctors and natural
lawyers. They are frequently found in
the same family. Give them special
training and you make three good men;
give them oil the same training and
you make three second.rate men. We
have normal schools for teachers, spec
ial schools for lawyers and doctors-we
need them for farmers. We can have
them when we send our genuine farm
boys together. They will make the
institution and give it dignity"
This reasoning Of the New York
paper is all right. if there is fiist an in.
stitution which teaches agriculture, but
if farmers. by sending their sons to
black letter institutions, whore Greek,
Latin and Hebrew, theology, law or
medicine are taught, with the hope Of
their acquiring an education which will
graduate them as practical or scientific
farmers in any branch rural Industry,
they will be hugely disappointed. The
practical commonsense Of Maryland
farmers convinces them of this, hence
they have refused to waste the time Of
their sons, by sending them to our non
descript agricultural College" located
in Prince George county, That mock
concern has been rookery where few
played out Office hunters have been
quartsred from time to time, to devour
the public appropriation without re
turning any benefit in the way o.
scientific education to the students who
ATTENDED. Farmers Of Maryland hasi